Re: m1, m2, m3 civilizations

Diego A. Mayer-Cantu (diego@purdue.edu)
Fri, 11 Dec 1998 14:32:07 -0800

At 10:51 PM 12/9/98 -0800, you wrote:
>question please, o great writhing amoeba of collective extropian arcania:
>is anyone here familiar with the terms m1, m2, m3, civilizations? i think
>i saw it here once. the definition is something like: an m1 civilization
is one
>that has exhausted the resources of a continent. m2... a planet? where
>does this terminology come from? thanks! spike
>

I recall hearing about these types of civilizations from Michio Kaku's most recent book, "Visions." I dont have the book around though so I'm not totally sure that what I say is *entirely* accurate, but it goes a little something like this:

type 0 civilization : us ;)
type I civilization: a civilization that has exhausted all resources on a planet and has moved to other planets or looks to the sun for energy (dyson sphere?)
type II civilization: a civilization that has exhausted the resources of a solar system and has moved towards other systems for resources.

the escalation beyond type II is pretty predictable.

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Diego A. Mayer-Cantu
diego@purdue.edu
http://expert.cc.purdue.edu/~mayercan
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